NCRI – In a press release today, Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup in European Parliament strongly condemned Iraqi Government’s decision to prevent medicine and medical doctors to Camp Ashraf. The latest inhuman move at the behest of Iranian regime is in blatant violation of international conventions and contradicts Iraqi Government’s own commitments and obligations. The following is the text of FoFI press release:
Friends of a Free Iran intergroup in the European Parliament strongly condemns the medical ban on Ashraf residents by Iraqi government
The committee in charge of suppressing the residents of Ashraf, within the Iraqi Government, organized a deadly attack against Ashraf on July 28 and 29 during which 11 residents were killed, 130 were disabled, 370 were wounded and over 1000 were beaten up.
Ashraf Camp is home to 3400 members of the Iranian democratic opposition, PMOI.
For the past three days, this Iraqi committee has prevented the necessary medicine purchased by Ashraf residents as well as specialist doctors from entering the camp to visit their patients. On November 25, it was notified to the residents of Ashraf that from now on all medicine and medical doctors would be barred from entering Ashraf.
In addition, in recent months, sending medical test samples of the patients and the wounded to laboratories in Baghdad as well as entering any medical equipment to Ashraf has not been allowed.
To prevent access to medical doctors and treatment as well as medicine is a war crime and crime against humanity in blatant violation of the principles of the medical profession and medical law.
The European Parliament resolution adopted on April 24, 2009, "Calls on the Iraqi government to end its blockade of the camp and respect the legal status of the Camp Ashraf residents as ‘Protected Persons’ under the Geneva Conventions, and to refrain from any action that would endanger their life or security, namely full access to food, water, medical care and supplies, fuel, family members and international humanitarian organizations.” It also “calls on the Iraqi authorities to protect the lives, and the physical and moral integrity of the Camp Ashraf residents and to treat them in accordance with the obligations under the Geneva Conventions, notably not to forcibly displace, deport, expel or repatriate them in violation of the principle of non-refoulement,"
The Iraqi committee in charge of suppressing the residents of Ashraf has also told PMOI representatives that it will soon resort to force and violence to transfer Ashraf residents to Southern Iraq.
Displacement of Ashraf residents and threats by the Iraqi government representative are unlawful and considered as criminal acts under International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. According to the Statute of the International Criminal Court, the forcible displacement of a population is a case of crime against humanity.
We call on the Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki not to stand face to face against the international community on the basic rights of people who have lived lawfully in Iraq for many years. We are fully confident that the people of Iraq would strongly condemn violations of these rights and it is only the Iranian regime that would welcome such violations.
Friends of a Free Iran Intergroup
European Parliament
Brussels
